Religious liberty continues to suffer globally at the hands of extremists and totalitarian governments, according to a new report by a congressionally approved watchdog.
In its annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended the same countries it had proposed in 2012, with one exception, be named to the list of the world’s worst violators of religious liberty. USCIRF urged the U.S. State Department April 30 to designate 15 governments as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs).
Those 15 recommendations included eight for redesignation that already have been labeled CPCs by the State Department: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan. The other seven USCIRF proposed for CPC designation are Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.
The bipartisan commission — which advises the White House, State Department and Congress on religious freedom conditions overseas — recommended Turkey’s inclusion on the CPC list last year but not this year.
The State Department has not named CPCs since August 2011.
USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett described the condition of global religious freedom as “increasingly dire due to the presence of forces that fuel instability.”
“These forces include the rise of violent religious extremism coupled with the actions and inactions of governments,” Lantos Swett said in a written statement. “Extremists target religious minorities and dissenters from majority religious communities for violence, including physical assaults and even murder. Authoritarian governments also repress religious freedom through intricate webs of discriminatory rules, arbitrary requirements and draconian edicts.”
The commission also placed eight countries on Tier 2, formerly known as its “watch list.” Tier 2 countries, on the threshold of recommendation for CPC or Tier 1 designation, are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and Russia.
Among the religious freedom violations cited by USCIRF:
- Military abuses of Christians and non-government violence against Muslims in Burma;
- China’s persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong adherents, as well as the detention of Catholic priests and more than 1,000 underground Protestants;
- Egypt’s failure to protect Coptic Christians against violence;
- The deteriorating state of religious liberty in Iran that includes the arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution of Baha’is, Christians and Sufi Muslims;
- Nigeria’s toleration of violence against Christians and Muslims;
- Sudanese enforcement of strict Islamic law on Muslims and non-Muslims;
- Tajikistan’s repression of all religious expression outside government control;
- An increase in harassment and violence in India for such minority groups as Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims and Sikhs;
- Russia’s favoritism of the Russian Orthodox Church and its suppression of “non-traditional” religious groups.
Swett called for American foreign policy to recognize “the critical role religious freedom plays” in many of these countries.
“Religious freedom is both a pivotal human right under international law and a key factor that helps determine whether a nation experiences stability of chaos,” she said.
As it has in the past, the commission said the administration has failed to utilize adequately the actions provided under federal law to gain religious freedom improvements in CPCs. Those actions include sanctions against violators.
The U.S. president and congressional leaders select the members of USCIRF. The panel, normally made up of nine members, had only eight commissioners during the reporting period, which covered Jan. 31, 2012, to Jan. 31 of this year.
It’s known from all western sources that the westerners hold Islam as a militant religion. But the fact is just the opposite. History will say that when true Islamic rule was in place, none, irrespective of their creed and caste, was discriminated against and insecure in any respect. History witnessed the cruelest ethnic cleansing in Germany by Hitler in which six million Jews were eliminated. History also saw a few million Japanese were burnt to ashes along with their homes and hearths in a few moments. Were the perpetrators of the holocaust and nuke bombers Muslims? Those who have at least a comprehensive knowledge of Islamic laws and regulations must know that Islam never allows extremism of any kind. The Holy Qur’an says, ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ Our holy Prophet says, ‘ He from whose hands and tongue his neighbors are not safe is not a true Muslim.’ He again says, ‘He who goes to sleep will a full belly while his neighbor sleeps with hunger is not a ‘mumin’ (true believer).’ Can a welfare state be even conceived of without these principles? Allah Almighty has ordered Muslims never to be an attacker unless attacked. So, those who say Islam is a militant religion are but ignorant and hostile to this religion. Islam even forbids its followers to call ill names of the followers of other faiths and dictates them not to utter the names of the prophets of all religions without imploring peace on them. Even when in Denmark or elsewhere our Prophet was defamed and abused, Muslims protested vehemently but never uttered ill names of Jesus or other prophets in retaliation. People of other faiths should take lessons from it but we observe with deep regret and shock that Islam is often castigated and Muslims are held with disdain by a section of people with a diseased heart. May Allah show them the right path. Amin.